Solapur: Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday used the Congress jibe of ‘chowkidar chor hai’ to mount a veiled attack on BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ‘Chowkidar chor hai’ (the guard is a thief) is the oft-repeated jibe of Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Thackeray used the slogan in a different context while narrating an incident. He told this while addressing a rally in temple town in Solapur district.
Times of India has quoted Thackeray as saying, ‘in one of the state tours, a farmer showed me a pest-infested lime tree. The lime tree is actually used to make pesticides but this was a plant that was infested with pest. The farmer told me that for the first time in his lifetime, he had seen a lime tree getting infested, which they have been using to make pesticides. I had told him that now, days have changed. Security persons have become thieves.
Though he did not take any names Thackeray and his party which is part of the BJP-led governments at the centre and also in Maharashtra have been often criticizing the BJP and its top leaders including Modi, on a range of issues. However, this is the first time a BJP ally has publicly made the ‘chowkidar chor hai’ taunt.